[Verse 1 – Calm, minor key, slow build] Faces faded, colors dull and pale, Are they people, or just wooden dolls? One glance like the next, day like day. I am tired, just resting for a while, Come with me into the puppet show, Where the dolls seem almost like real men. Harlequins and pirates brave, Circus folk and acrobats so grave, Villains whose stare fills you with dread. Wolf and hare, tigers locked in cages — All of them are marionettes on stage, In the skillful, tired, worn-out hands. Wolf and hare, tigers locked in cages — All of them are marionettes on stage, In the skillful, tired, worn-out hands. [Pre-Chorus – Slight tension, rising] Someone pulls the strings from way up high, Does he hate them? Does he love them, why? While the clown plays his sad, lonely tune. [Chorus – Full band, emotional] And during the show it seems to us They dance freely, without any fuss, We forget they're marching to their doom. [Verse 2 – Darker tone, restrained] Ah, how bitter, how empty it feels, Threads the eye can barely trace at all, Rising high then vanishing in black. Dolls obey, never asking why, While we take it in and gladly buy The idea a wooden heart can spark. Dolls obey, never asking why, While we take it in and gladly buy The idea a wooden heart can spark. [Interlude – Instrumental, eerie] [Verse 3 – Quiet, ominous] But the Master puts the candles out, Ends the ball, lets the handles drop, Moonlight trembles faintly through the pane. Strings are cut, they're taken down at last, Limp and cold, abandoned in the past, Like old rags they're packed away in chests. Strings are cut, they're taken down at last, Limp and cold, abandoned in the past, In a trunk with mothballs they will rest. [Final Chorus – Powerful, dramatic] And during the show it seems to us They dance freely, without any fuss, We forget they're marching to their doom. [Outro – Whispered, fading] We forget… They're marching… to their doom…
